Residential segregation in saturated housing markets : Using vacancy chains to analyze moving patterns in Stockholm

Sammanfattning: This thesis uses vacancy chain analysis to investigate the complex dynamics of residential segregation within Stockholm County. Residential segregation has been a longstanding concern due to its implications for social inequality and community cohesion. While previous research has explored various factors contributing to segregation, this study focuses on understanding the intricate processes that drive neighborhood-level changes in occupancy patterns by analyzing the role of newly built dwellings. By studying the characteristics of the people that first move to the new dwellings and then the chains they create, the aim is to uncover segregating or desegregating patterns, which could prove essential for future residential planning. The findings presented in this thesis shed light on the interconnected roles of individual preferences, socio-economic factors, and neighborhood characteristics in shaping segregation patterns and provide important insights for designing targeted interventions to promote more equitable and integrated communities. Neighborhoods that fall into the fourth income decile exhibit the most considerable desegregating effect both for first and subsequent moves. Knowing this, targeting housing construction for lower-income neighborhoods could produce the best results.